A nonprofit for minor league baseball players has called for Baltimore Orioles team officials to offer more support for the Bowie Baysox. In a series of tweets on Tuesday, Advocates for Minor Leaguers said they were told multiple players on the Bowie Baysox were considering sleeping in their cars after the club stopped paying for housing and offered hotels for 80% of the players’ home game paychecks.
(1/3) We’ve just been told that multiple players on the Bowie Baysox are considering sleeping in their cars beginning tomorrow night. The Baysox are the Double-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles.
— Advocates for Minor Leaguers (@MiLBAdvocates) June 15, 2021
(2/3) We’re told that members of the Baysox will receive ~$900 after taxes for their entire 2-week homestand and are on their own for housing beginning tomorrow at 11 AM. We’re told that some players simply cannot afford to spend roughly 80% of their paycheck on the team hotel.
— Advocates for Minor Leaguers (@MiLBAdvocates) June 15, 2021
(3/3) According to one player: “We don’t know what to do.”
— Advocates for Minor Leaguers (@MiLBAdvocates) June 15, 2021
At his regular press conference, Baltimore Orioles executive vice president and general manager Mike Elias called the claims hearsay, adding he was not aware of any players planning to sleep in their cars until those tweets surfaced. “Our players did know, and continue to know, that we’re available to them should they have any type of hardships arise,” Elias told reporters. “It does happen time to time and we handle them quietly from time to time, and we’re here as a resource for them. We’re here to help them.” Elias said COVID-19 affected the team’s accommodation options. Some players typically rely on host families, while others stay in hotels with roommates to mitigate the costs. Two Baysox players stay in RVs, Elias said. Hours after that first thread was tweeted out, Advocates for Minor Leaguers tweeted that team officials informed the players they would now be able to obtain hotel rooms for roughly 40% of their home game paychecks.
(1/2) We’re told that team officials informed Bowie players after tonight’s game that they will be able to obtain hotel rooms for roughly 40% of their homestand paycheck, and that the players have decided to eat that cost rather than sleep in their cars.
— Advocates for Minor Leaguers (@MiLBAdvocates) June 16, 2021
Elias also told reporters that team management would continue to listen and talk to the players, to “make sure they have what they need.” “We’re continuing to fine-tune the way that the industry invests in player development,” Elias said. Advocates for Minor Leaguers is still calling for team officials to provide players with adequate food and shelter.
(2/2) While we’re relieved to hear that, 40% is still too much. Most Minor Leaguers make less than $15,000 per year. The least MLB teams can do is provide them with adequate food and shelter.
— Advocates for Minor Leaguers (@MiLBAdvocates) June 16, 2021
A fundraiser has been started to help pay for players’ hotel costs.
🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨 Signal boosting! We now have enough for two nights in a hotel room. Let’s keep this going! Everything goes directly to Bowie Baysox players struggling to pay for their hotel.@Heather-Noble-4 VenMo hnoble6001@email.vccs.edu PayPal https://t.co/2Jx0R7uq2W
— Heather Linington-Noble (@AlainnFocail) June 16, 2021